Quick Reaction: Raptors 94, Knicks 116

Toronto Raptors

94

Final

116

New York Knicks

A	C. Murray-Boyles22 MIN, 11 PTS, 8 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 5-6 FG, 0-1 3FG, 1-3 FT, 0 BLK, 3 TO, -5 +/-CMB probably should’ve gotten the start tonight, but when he did get in the game he was bruising down low with the big men, and successfully battling with Mitchell Robinson on the glass. He was very active defensively, using his size and strength to provide resistance at the basket, and on the other end he moved well without the ball, and had a couple gimmes in transition.
C+	S. Barnes32 MIN, 18 PTS, 5 REB, 4 AST, 1 STL, 7-17 FG, 4-7 3FG, 0-0 FT, 2 BLK, 3 TO, -6 +/-Barnes was a force early in the game, his effort jumped off the screen and he helped keep New York’s lead from getting too out of control with his scoring. With 14 in the first half it seemed like he was headed for a stellar game, but the second half saw his lift wane, and his jumper get away from him. His defense was good as usual, especially his perimeter defense against Towns, he stonewalled many of his drives.
B+	I. Quickley35 MIN, 19 PTS, 2 REB, 8 AST, 0 STL, 7-14 FG, 4-10 3FG, 1-3 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, -8 +/-Quickley did all he could to keep Toronto in this game, especially with his blazing 13-point third quarter. He was so confident shooting the deep triples, and he took full advantage of New York’s subpar point-of-attack defense and got to the cup many times. He really made it a point to push the ball in transition, which led to plenty of his assists as well.
C	B. Ingram32 MIN, 14 PTS, 1 REB, 4 AST, 0 STL, 4-11 FG, 2-5 3FG, 4-7 FT, 0 BLK, 5 TO, -22 +/-Ingram’s offensive process today seemed out of wack. He was succumbing to the Knicks sending multiple defenders at him and it resulted in a boatload of turnovers. Even when he could find space for his jumper, he was so out of rhythm they missed, he hit a couple of threes in the 4th but by then it was too little too late.
C-	J. Battle11 MIN, 4 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 2-4 FG, 0-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -13 +/-Battle got the start tonight, likely in an effort to utilize his shooting, and throw someone at the Knicks that they did not prepare for. Battle was definitely overextended defensively and the Knicks took advantage of him in the early minutes.
B-	S. Mamukelashvili27 MIN, 9 PTS, 7 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 3-9 FG, 0-3 3FG, 3-4 FT, 2 BLK, 1 TO, -17 +/-Mamu had a nice slip screen where he was able to rise up for a layup, he was good at being a tertiary player tonight, filled the lane properly in transition as well. Toronto’s stars weren’t too productive tonight so there wasn’t much he could play off of unfortunately.
B-	O. Agbaji17 MIN, 6 PTS, 5 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 3-4 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 3 +/-Agbaji was doing plenty of the dirty work tonight, with New York being physical all game, Agbaji made it his mission to help out down low, and be useful in transition as well. He caught an alley-oop for a dunk, and he helped corral rebounds on both ends as well.
B-	G. Dick18 MIN, 2 PTS, 3 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 1-4 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -3 +/-Gradey didn’t get many shots up tonight, he was being used more so as a decoy in order to open things up for his teammates on offense. Defensively he was pretty active, pressuring the ball well at times, and making sure to close out hard as well.
C	J. Shead17 MIN, 2 PTS, 1 REB, 5 AST, 4 STL, 1-6 FG, 0-3 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -17 +/-Shead was very physical as a perimeter defender, and he made Brunson really work to get to his spots. Offensively he had some open looks I’m sure he’d love to have back but with Toronto’s offense missing that extra punch it usually has, it was hard for Shead to add much tonight.
B+	J. Walter21 MIN, 7 PTS, 4 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 3-7 FG, 1-4 3FG, 0-0 FT, 2 BLK, 1 TO, -15 +/-Walter’s quickness as a perimeter defender was on full display against Brunson, he didn’t allow the Knicks guard to just blow past him and he was oftentimes stride for stride with him. He got caught with his hand in the cookie jar a couple times, but he did his part on the defensive end.
B	Darko RajakovicDarko started Jamison Battle in this matchup, which was a head-scratcher because Battle sat for most of this game. He quickly amended his mistake with the starting lineup though. Thought his rotations were solid tonight, but maybe a bit too much Ingram, especially considering the amount of rest in between games.

Things We Saw

1. On the second leg of a back-to-back, it was clear from the opening tip that Toronto didn’t have that same vigor that we’ve seen them have this year.
2. The team misses RJ Barrett badly, the driving and overall paint touches haven’t been the same, and he can’t come bakc soon enough.

Your next read: “After losing to the Knicks, Barnes and the Raptors face second test of their season” by Louis Zatzman

There have been some truly awful losses in the history of this franchise. Heck, there has been a pretty bad one already this season. This wasn’t that. Barnes was exceptional, Quickley had fantastic moments, and Murray-Boyles had one of the best games of his young career. There is proof of concept for this team, a blueprint for winning. But over the course of the exceptional month of November, the team has slowly been starting to cut the corners when it comes to those guidelines. If anything, back-to-back losses is a reminder that Toronto knows how to win, but it isn’t good enough to skirt around what matters. It can be a good thing in the long run. But Toronto had a chance to respond to the Hornets’ loss, and it failed to do so. It had a chance to respond to an opponent finally hitting a whack of long bombs, and in the long run it failed to do that, too. 

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